N.Y. primary race highlights: Rep. Jerrold Nadler wins NY-12 congressional seat, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney takes NY-17, and Dan Goldman claims NY-10
Low turnout and a late summer primary spelled victory for Rep. Jerrold Nadler on Tuesday as a smattering of New Yorkers hit the polls for the state’s second primary in as many months.
Among a handful of hotly contested races, Nadler easily defeated Rep. Carolyn Maloney after New York’s redistricting mess resulted in the two veteran lawmakers facing off in an unusual Democratic primary. In heavily liberal New York City, prevailing in the primary all but ensures victory for Nadler in November‘s general election.
Rep. Jerry Nadler speaks during his election night victory party in the Democratic primary election, Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022, in New York. (John Minchillo/)
Nadler, joined by his wife and dozens of cheering supporters, said he was often asked on the campaign trail why he decided to run against Maloney instead of moving to “another part of the city.”
“Because this place is my home,” he said during a victory speech at Arte Cafe on the Upper West Side. “I have lived here my entire adult life.
“I’m proud we were able to win while remaining committed to our principles of kindness and progressivism,” he added in an apparent dig at Maloney’s harsh rhetoric toward the end of the campaign.
Live Results: New York Primary Election, August 2022
Overall, the August election drew only a fraction of eligible voters after a confusing redistricting process resulted in newly drawn State Senate and Congressional districts and the splitting of the state’s primaries.
Bob Biegen, a 76-year-old retired urban planner and one of only a handful of voters who cast ballots at the sweltering gym inside of PS9 in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, called the low turnout “depressing.”
“It’s, of course, unfortunate,” he said. “It, of course, would’ve been way better if they combined them.”
Bob Biegen is pictured outside the P.S. 9 polling site in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, on Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022. (Chris Sommerfeldt/)
The state’s primaries were split after an upstate judge ordered state Senate and congressional contests postponed after the state’s highest court tossed out redistricting maps drawn by the Democrat-led Legislature.
In June, voters picked their party’s nominees for governor and Assembly races, while Tuesday saw congressional and State Senate candidates vying for attention as most New Yorkers were more occupied with enjoying the final weeks of summer.
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As of 6 p.m., only 237,888 out of approximately 2.3 million eligible voters in the city had journeyed to the polls during early voting and on Tuesday, according to the Board of Elections.
Biegen said he came out to vote for Dan Goldman in the crowded Democratic primary for the newly drawn 10th Congressional District, which covers Lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn.
“He has a future and is going somewhere,” Biegen said of Goldman, a lawyer who served as lead majority counsel in the first impeachment inquiry against former president Donald Trump.
Attorney Dan Goldman stands with members of his family and supporters during an address on the evening of the Democratic primary election Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022, in New York. (Craig Ruttle/)
Goldman declared victory around 10:30 p.m. even though Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou trailed by less than 1,000 votes and refused to immediately concede.
“While we will appreciate and respect the Democratic process and make sure all the votes are counted, it is quite clear from the way all the results have come in that we have won,” Goldman told supporters at the Torch and Crown in Soho.
Shortly after midnight Wednesday, The Associated Press called the race for Goldman.
Sasha Hoff, a 34-year-old Brooklyn database manager, said she voted for Niou after initially planning to back City Council member Carlina Rivera.
“I decided in the last minute,” she said. “I wanted to vote for Carlina, but the most recent polls showed her behind (Niou), who was at 13%, and I just want to make sure Dan Goldman doesn’t win.”
“He represents the status quo,” she added of Goldman. “And when I listened to the debate two weeks ago, the thing that struck me most is that he wasn’t in favor of forgiving student loans. It shows how out of touch he is.”
Carlina Rivera, left, greets voters at the 180 7th Ave. polling site in Brooklyn, New York, Tuesday, August 23, 2022. (Shawn Inglima/)
Outside of the city, several congressional primaries, as well as a special election to replace Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, were closely watched and considered potential bellwethers for November’s general election as Dems hope to retain control of the House in the midterms.
In the suburbs of the Hudson Valley, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) was declared the winner by The Associated Press against state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi in NY-17 for a district covering much of Westchester and Putnam Counties.
“Voters in the Hudson Valley have spoken: they want leaders who will put partisanship aside to get real results,” Maloney said in a statement. “It is the honor of my life to represent Hudson Valley families in Congress, and I am humbled to have the Democratic nomination and opportunity to continue fighting for our communities.”
New York 17th Congressional District Democratic primary candidate U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, left, delivers his victory speech next to his daughters and his husband, Randy Florke, right, during an election night party in Peekskill, N.Y., Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022. (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/)
Further north, Dutchess County executive Marc Molinaro, a Republican and former gubernatorial candidate, faced off against Ulster County executive Pat Ryan, a Democrat, for Delgado’s vacant seat.
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The winner of the special election in the 19th District will only serve through the end of the year, but Molinaro is running for a full term in November for the redrawn district, and Ryan was also on the ballot Tuesday for the Democratic primary in the neighboring 18th District.
Ryan won the primary in the 18th and was ahead of Molinaro, according to unofficial early results in the 19th.
Suraj Patel is pictured while campaigning at 23rd St. and First Ave. Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022. (Luiz C. Ribeiro/)
Earlier in the day, Mayor Adams cast his ballot at PS81 in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. Before voting, he joked around with poll workers and snapped a few selfies.
“I’m still on the block,” he told one worker who asked if he still spends nights at his nearby Lafayette Ave. apartment.
Adams voted in the 25th State Senate District, where incumbent progressive Sen. Jabari Brisport faced off against challenger Conrad Tillard, a pastor endorsed by the mayor despite a history of offensive rhetoric about Jews, gay people and women.
Brisport appeared poised to easily defeat his challenger based on early unofficial results from the Board of Elections.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams is pictured in Manhattan, New York, Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022. (Shawn Inglima/)
After casting his ballot, the mayor refused to answer questions about Tillard, instead accusing reporters of trying to trick him into violating rules against electioneering near polling sites.
”Are y’all trying to set me up?” he said while walking to his waiting SUV. “You’re not 100 feet from the site. You know I can’t do this. They’re trying to set me up.”
In the Bronx, a heated contest played out between state Sen. Gustavo Rivera, an incumbent Democrat whose home is no longer in the redrawn 33rd district, and lawyer Miguelina Camilo, who has the backing of the Bronx Democratic Party.
“Against a flood of special interest money — from real estate, from charter schools, and from right wing Trump donors — and against every effort by the Bronx Democratic Party machine, we prevailed,” Rivera said in a statement as he declared victory. “And we prevailed because Bronxites know that the Bronx is not for sale.”
Campaign signs are pictured on Tuesday near poll sites in South Slope in Brooklyn. (Shawn Inglima/)
Rivera’s campaign accused Camilo supporters of electioneering earlier in the day at several polling sites, which her campaign called “bogus.”
In Queens, a race for a newly created Senate district that also spans parts of Manhattan and northern Brooklyn, was set to be tight as former City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley faced off against Kristen Gonzalez, a product manager for American Express backed by the Democratic Socialists of America.
